What share of the prison population was female in June 2024?

According to the Ministry of Justice (2025), 4% of the prison population was female as of 30 June 2024.

How does gender socialisation help explain women's lower offending?

Girls are typically socialised to be caring, passive and obedient , while boys are encouraged to be aggressive, risk-taking and dominant , so girls are less likely to offend .

True or False? Women receive immediate custody more often than men for indictable offences.

False. In 2023, 18% of women sentenced for indictable offences received immediate custody, compared with 36% of men (Ministry of Justice, 2025).

How does Heidensohn (1985) argue that women are controlled at home?

Heidensohn argues that domestic responsibilities and childcare restrict women's movement and opportunity.

Heidensohn argues that women's fear of ___________ in public spaces discourages them from deviance.

Heidensohn argues that women's fear of sexual harassment in public spaces discourages them from deviance.

Define chivalry thesis .

The chivalry thesis is Otto Pollak's (1950) idea that male police officers, judges and juries treat women more leniently , seeing them as less dangerous and more in need of protection.

Define hegemonic masculinity .

Hegemonic masculinity is Connell's (1995) term for the dominant form of masculinity in society, which values strength, authority and control .

Why do some men commit crime, according to Connell ?

Connell argues that some men commit crimes such as violence or financial fraud to prove their masculinity and maintain power within a patriarchal society.

True or False? Women have the same access to white-collar crime as men.

False. The glass ceiling and workplace discrimination give women less access to white-collar or corporate crimes.

What did Adler (1975) argue about female offending?

Adler argued that women's liberation has led to an increase in female offending, particularly in crimes once dominated by men.

Why do critics reject Adler's liberation thesis ?

Critics point out that most female offenders are still working class and commit petty crimes such as shoplifting, not white-collar crimes.

Pat Carlen (1988) found that working-class women may turn to crime when the rewards of the class deal and the __________ deal are not available.

Pat Carlen (1988) found that working-class women may turn to crime when the rewards of the class deal and the gender deal are not available.

Define double deviance thesis .

The double deviance thesis argues that women who break both the law and traditional gender norms , e.g. through violence or child cruelty, are treated more harshly .

Why might more women now be arrested and charged?

More women may now be arrested and charged because the decline of the chivalry effect means the police and courts no longer automatically treat women more leniently.

What share of arrests have females made up in recent years?

Females have made up about 16% of arrests in each of the last three years (Ministry of Justice, 2025).

What did Denscombe (2001) observe among some young women?

Denscombe observed the rise of ladette culture , where some young women adopt traditionally male behaviours such as binge drinking, swearing and aggression.

True or False? Young women now commit as much violent crime as young men.

False. The behaviour of some young women has changed, but men still commit the vast majority of crimes , especially violent and serious offences.

In Carlen's theory, the class deal is the promise of material rewards , such as wages, consumer goods and independence, in return for hard work.

Whose idea of social bonds did Carlen draw on?

Carlen drew on Hirschi's (1969) idea that people are less likely to offend when they have strong social bonds .

Hirschi's social bonds include attachment to others, commitment to goals and __________ in society's rules and values.

Hirschi's social bonds include attachment to others, commitment to goals and belief in society's rules and values.

In Carlen's theory, the gender deal is the promise of emotional and financial rewards from family life in return for being a good wife and mother.

True or False? Carlen argued that the class and gender deals make women more likely to offend.

False. The deals encourage conformity ; crime becomes more likely only when the rewards are not available or not worth it and the deals break down .

What were the aims of Carlen's study?

Carlen wanted to find out what the women believed were the main influences on, and the major turning points in, their criminal careers.

Which research method did Carlen use?

Carlen carried out in-depth unstructured interviews with 39 working-class women aged 15 to 46, all convicted of at least one offence.

Which four factors did Carlen link to the women's offending?

Carlen linked the women's offending to poverty , living in residential care , drug or alcohol addictions and the search for excitement .

Why did some women in Carlen's study reject the class deal ?

Some women in Carlen's study rejected the class deal because they felt exploited by the capitalist system and had few opportunities for respectable work or decent pay, so they saw crime as a rational response to inequality.

Carlen described the women's offences as crimes of the ___________.

Carlen described the women's offences as crimes of the powerless .

Why did some women in Carlen's study reject the gender deal ?

Some women in Carlen's study rejected the gender deal because they had suffered abuse or neglect and lacked stable relationships or family support , so they had more to gain than lose from offending.

True or False? Carlen's findings apply to all women who commit crime.

False. Carlen used a small sample of women already in the criminal justice system, so her findings are difficult to generalise .

What is one strength of Carlen's work?

Carlen's work gave a voice to marginalised women and offered a feminist critique of traditional theories that ignored female offenders.

What do critics argue Carlen's work ignores ?

Critics argue that Carlen may overemphasise patriarchy and poverty as causes of crime, ignoring free will and resilience .

GCSESociologyWJEC EduqasFlashcardsCrime & DeviancePatterns of Criminal & Deviant Behaviour: Gender

Patterns of Criminal & Deviant Behaviour: Gender (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Sociology): Flashcards

Exam code: C200

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FrontThe Relationship Between Gender & Crime
What share of the prison population was female in June 2024?

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Cards in this collection (31)

What share of the prison population was female in June 2024?
According to the Ministry of Justice (2025), 4% of the prison population was female as of 30 June 2024.
How does gender socialisation help explain women's lower offending?
Girls are typically socialised to be caring, passive and obedient, while boys are encouraged to be aggressive, risk-taking and dominant, so girls are less likely to offend.
True or False?
Women receive immediate custody more often than men for indictable offences.
False.
In 2023, 18% of women sentenced for indictable offences received immediate custody, compared with 36% of men (Ministry of Justice, 2025).
How does Heidensohn (1985) argue that women are controlled at home?
Heidensohn argues that domestic responsibilities and childcare restrict women's movement and opportunity.
Heidensohn argues that women's fear of ___________ in public spaces discourages them from deviance.
Heidensohn argues that women's fear of sexual harassment in public spaces discourages them from deviance.
Define chivalry thesis.
The chivalry thesis is Otto Pollak's (1950) idea that male police officers, judges and juries treat women more leniently, seeing them as less dangerous and more in need of protection.
Define hegemonic masculinity.
Hegemonic masculinity is Connell's (1995) term for the dominant form of masculinity in society, which values strength, authority and control.
Why do some men commit crime, according to Connell?
Connell argues that some men commit crimes such as violence or financial fraud to prove their masculinity and maintain power within a patriarchal society.
True or False?
Women have the same access to white-collar crime as men.
False.
The glass ceiling and workplace discrimination give women less access to white-collar or corporate crimes.
What did Adler (1975) argue about female offending?
Adler argued that women's liberation has led to an increase in female offending, particularly in crimes once dominated by men.
Why do critics reject Adler's liberation thesis?
Critics point out that most female offenders are still working class and commit petty crimes such as shoplifting, not white-collar crimes.
Pat Carlen (1988) found that working-class women may turn to crime when the rewards of the class deal and the __________ deal are not available.
Pat Carlen (1988) found that working-class women may turn to crime when the rewards of the class deal and the gender deal are not available.
Define double deviance thesis.
The double deviance thesis argues that women who break both the law and traditional gender norms, e.g. through violence or child cruelty, are treated more harshly.
Why might more women now be arrested and charged?
More women may now be arrested and charged because the decline of the chivalry effect means the police and courts no longer automatically treat women more leniently.
What share of arrests have females made up in recent years?
Females have made up about 16% of arrests in each of the last three years (Ministry of Justice, 2025).
What did Denscombe (2001) observe among some young women?
Denscombe observed the rise of ladette culture, where some young women adopt traditionally male behaviours such as binge drinking, swearing and aggression.
True or False?
Young women now commit as much violent crime as young men.
False.
The behaviour of some young women has changed, but men still commit the vast majority of crimes, especially violent and serious offences.
Define class deal.
In Carlen's theory, the class deal is the promise of material rewards, such as wages, consumer goods and independence, in return for hard work.
Whose idea of social bonds did Carlen draw on?
Carlen drew on Hirschi's (1969) idea that people are less likely to offend when they have strong social bonds.
Hirschi's social bonds include attachment to others, commitment to goals and __________ in society's rules and values.
Hirschi's social bonds include attachment to others, commitment to goals and belief in society's rules and values.
Define gender deal.
In Carlen's theory, the gender deal is the promise of emotional and financial rewards from family life in return for being a good wife and mother.
True or False?
Carlen argued that the class and gender deals make women more likely to offend.
False.
The deals encourage conformity; crime becomes more likely only when the rewards are not available or not worth it and the deals break down.
What were the aims of Carlen's study?
Carlen wanted to find out what the women believed were the main influences on, and the major turning points in, their criminal careers.
Which research method did Carlen use?
Carlen carried out in-depth unstructured interviews with 39 working-class women aged 15 to 46, all convicted of at least one offence.
Which four factors did Carlen link to the women's offending?
Carlen linked the women's offending to poverty, living in residential care, drug or alcohol addictions and the search for excitement.
Why did some women in Carlen's study reject the class deal?
Some women in Carlen's study rejected the class deal because they felt exploited by the capitalist system and had few opportunities for respectable work or decent pay, so they saw crime as a rational response to inequality.
Carlen described the women's offences as crimes of the ___________.
Carlen described the women's offences as crimes of the powerless.
Why did some women in Carlen's study reject the gender deal?
Some women in Carlen's study rejected the gender deal because they had suffered abuse or neglect and lacked stable relationships or family support, so they had more to gain than lose from offending.
True or False?
Carlen's findings apply to all women who commit crime.
False.
Carlen used a small sample of women already in the criminal justice system, so her findings are difficult to generalise.
What is one strength of Carlen's work?
Carlen's work gave a voice to marginalised women and offered a feminist critique of traditional theories that ignored female offenders.
What do critics argue Carlen's work ignores?
Critics argue that Carlen may overemphasise patriarchy and poverty as causes of crime, ignoring free will and resilience.

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